There's something sad about Aftersun

There is something sad and unsettling about Aftersun, Charlotte Wells' simple debut movie. The presence of a camcorder and the absence of cell phones indicate that the story takes place in the past, a record made by a father and daughter on vacation in Turkey. At the beginning, the young girl Sophie (Frankie Corio) reveals that she has just turned 11, while her father, Calum (Paul Mescal), will be "131" in two days. 

From the scrambled images, we notice that someone is rewinding the VHS tape from the two's goodbye at the end of the film to the beginning. It is a moment of pure happiness between the young father, who no longer lives with Sophie and her mother.

So, where does the sadness come from? The movie makes us sad for no apparent reason. Days pass between lazy lounging by the pool (not forgetting the sunscreen), snorkelling, and dinners with old music. The only exception is "Losing My Religion," sung by Sophie at a karaoke.

Upset because Calum refuses to sing with her, Sophie spends the night with a group of English teenagers and ends up with a friend her age, with whom she usually plays arcade games. Alone, Calum walks towards the waves.

Last Dance

We think something serious might happen that night. Sophie, on the verge of adolescence, feels grown up and independent. Calum, who confesses to being surprised to have reached 30 in a conversation with a diving instructor, exudes calmness but practices Tai Chi Chuan (a Chinese stress-relieving technique) and reads self-help books.

We often see scenes in a rave with strobe lights where a woman (later identified as the adult Sophie, played by Celia Rowlson-Hall) tries to hug Calum in the dark, but he runs away.

In the final scene of the trip, Calum convinces Sophie to dance with him to the song Under Pressure, with emphasis on the verses repeated by David Bowie and Fred Mercury: "This is our last dance."